Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental Inoculation

Doležal, Adam; Hendrix, Stephen D.; Scavo, Nicole A.; Carrillo-Tripp, Jimena; Harris, Mary A.; Wheelock, Margaret J.; O’Neal, Matthew E.; Toth, Amy L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166190

Cited by 90 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…It has also been demonstrated that pollen pellets collected from foraging honey bees contain viruses that can be used to infect naïve bee colonies (Singh et al, 2010). The health consequences of the diseased status of solitary bees are virtually unknown, though a recent caged-bee study found that a multivirus inoculum caused extreme mortality in honey bees but not in two species of solitary bees (Dolezal et al, 2016).…”

Section: Viral Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was not until the 2000s that viruses had been characterized in populations of wild bees and other nonmanaged bee hosts, and it is still most common to measure presence of a virus and not the active infection of the host. Recently this topic has been more actively pursued, and the impact of viruses on the health of native and solitary bees is an emerging field of interest (Singh et al, 2010;Li et al, 2011;Peng et al, 2011;Levitt et al, 2013;Fürst et al, 2014;Ravoet et al, 2014;Graystock et al, 2015;McMahon et al, 2015;Dolezal et al, 2016;Graystock et al, 2016;Tehel et al, 2016;Alvarez et al, 2017;Melathopoulos et al, 2017;Radzeviciute et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SBV causes honey bee larvae to die before pupation, and there has been an increased prevalence of this virus in migratory honey bees (Welch et al, 2009). Little is known about the virulence or symptoms of these viruses in solitary bees, and at this time there are few studies that have measured active infection in nonsocial bees (but see Dolezal et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viral transmission in honey bees and native bees, supported by a global black queen cell virus phylogeny

Murray

Burand

Trikoz

et al. 2019

Environmental Microbiology

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Summary In recent decades, we have realized that honey bee viruses are not, in fact, exclusive to honey bees. The potential impact of Apis‐affiliated viruses on native pollinators is prompting concern. Our research addresses the issue of virus crossover between honey bees and native bees foraging in the same localities. We measured the presence of black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV) and sacbrood virus (SBV) in managed Apis mellifera (honey bees) and native Andrena spp. (subgenus Melandrena) bee populations in five commercial orchards. We identified viral presence across sites and bees and related these data to measures of bee community diversity. All viruses were found in both managed and native bees, and BQCV was the most common virus in each. To establish evidence for viral crossover between taxa, we undertook an additional examination of BQCV where 74 samples were sequenced and placed in a global phylogenic framework of hundreds of BQCV strains. We demonstrate pathogen sharing across managed honey bees and distantly related wild bees. This phylogenetic analysis contributes to growing evidence for host switching and places local incidence patterns in a worldwide context, revealing multispecies viral transmission.

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Section: Viral Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Viral transmission in honey bees and native bees, supported by a global black queen cell virus phylogeny

Murray

Burand

Trikoz

et al. 2019

Environmental Microbiology

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“…In order to obtain sufficient quantity of honey and hive products, availability of sufficient forage with diverse floral diet, is important for honey bee survival and pathogen resistance [20,21]. However, ecological degradation of the natural resources [22], change in landscape use through intensive agriculture, and the control of weedy plant species [20,23], alongside seasonal drought [24,25] have led to the depletion of bee forage. As a result, apiarists' resort to move their colonies from one area to another in search of nectar and pollen sources in order to maintain honey flow [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apiarists’ Awareness and Responses to Honey Bee Colony Parasite and Pathogen Infections in Kenya

Awino¹

2018

IJNREM

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Globally, honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is the most domesticated bee species due to their ability to produce honey of commercial value, wax, pollen, royal jelly and propolis. They also facilitate pollination processes of flowering plants. However, there has been an increase in reported incidences of hive and colony infection by honey bee parasites and pathogens, contributing to colony collapse disorder. This study explored the beekeeper's approaches to hive infestation by bee parasites and pathogens in Kenya. Using a questionnaire, 78 individual beekeepers and 15 beekeeping groups in eleven different Counties in Kenya were surveyed between 2012 and 2013, and their ability to identify and manage honey bee pathogens and parasites was determined. Majority of the farmers (95%) said they experienced challenges with pests. Ants were the pests mostly mentioned by the apiarists (90%), followed by small hive beetles (32%), wax moths (28%) and pirate wasps (18%). Only one respondent mentioned Varroa mites and no respondent mentioned any of the pathogens transmitted by these parasites. Most (90%) management practices apiarists mentioned targeted controlling ants. Farmers had no idea of how to control other pest and/or parasites, in spite of their presence as was confirmed by this study that all colonies inspected in all sites were infested with Varroa mites. Majority (93%) of the apiarist harvested honey at night when visibility is poor and hence could not see other pests and/or pathogens. Apiarist' need education on bee husbandry in order to contain honey bee parasites and pathogens to improve their awareness on the same and to manage colony collapse disorders. They need to embrace colony inspection and honey harvesting during the day when sufficient lighting is available for detection of parasites and pathogens.

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“…To date, reviews of the most common RNA viruses in wild pollinator species (Manley et al, 2015;Tehel et al, 2016) suggest that they have a broad host range and thus are potential candidates for cross-species transmission. Previous studies have shown that the most widespread honey bee-associated RNA viruses, the DWV complex and BQCV, infect bumble bees (Fürst et al, 2014, Peng et al, 2011, but very little is known as to whether other wild bee species can also serve as host for these viruses (Dolezal et al, 2016, Manley et al, 2015, Tehel et al, 2016. Earlier studies have been limited by small sample sizes, limited taxonomic breadth, and limited geographic range, with the focus on a few Western European countries and the United States (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Replication of honey bee-associated RNA viruses across multiple bee species in apple orchards of Georgia, Germany and Kyrgyzstan

Radzevičiūtė

Theodorou

Husemann

et al. 2017

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

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The essential ecosystem service of pollination is provided largely by insects, which are considered threatened by diverse biotic and abiotic global change pressures. RNA viruses are one such pressure, and have risen in prominence as a major threat for honey bees (Apis mellifera) and global apiculture, as well as a risk factor for other bee species through pathogen spill-over between managed honey bees and sympatric wild pollinator communities. Yet despite their potential role in global bee decline, the prevalence of honey bee-associated RNA viruses in wild bees is poorly known from both geographic and taxonomic perspectives. We screened members of pollinator communities (honey bees, bumble bees and other wild bees belonging to four families) collected from apple orchards in Georgia, Germany and Kyrgyzstan for six common honey bee-associated RNA virus complexes encompassing nine virus targets. The Deformed wing virus complex (DWV genotypes A and B) had the highest prevalence across all localities and host species and was the only virus complex found in wild bee species belonging to all four studied families. Based on amplification of negative-strand viral RNA, we found evidence for viral replication in wild bee species of DWV-A/DWV-B (hosts: Andrena haemorrhoa and several Bombus spp.) and Black queen cell virus (hosts: Anthophora plumipes, several Bombus spp., Osmia bicornis and Xylocopa spp.). Viral amplicon sequences revealed that DWV-A and DWV-B are regionally distinct but identical in two or more bee species at any one site, suggesting virus is shared amongst sympatric bee taxa. This study demonstrates that honey bee associated RNA viruses are geographically and taxonomically widespread, likely infective in wild bee species, and shared across bee taxa.

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Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental Inoculation

Cited by 90 publications

References 44 publications

Viral transmission in honey bees and native bees, supported by a global black queen cell virus phylogeny

Viral transmission in honey bees and native bees, supported by a global black queen cell virus phylogeny

Apiarists’ Awareness and Responses to Honey Bee Colony Parasite and Pathogen Infections in Kenya

Replication of honey bee-associated RNA viruses across multiple bee species in apple orchards of Georgia, Germany and Kyrgyzstan

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